On the grounds of Fort Worth’s Botanical Research Institute of Texas is a patch of land that looks out of place next to the sleek new facility. The field of tall, wild-looking prairie grass is an experiment of Karen Hall, app...

Hank Billman has knocked on a lot of his neighbors’ doors recently. The resident of Colonial Hills — the neighborhood west of Texas Christian University — isn’t selling encyclopedias or inviting folks to church. He’s ...

Tubing events were cancelled when the river might have made people sick.
JEFF PRINCE

Did the Trinity River Vision Authority cancel tubing events this year and last year because of high levels of dangerous bacteria in the river? It depends on your definition of “because.” A TRVA spokesman says E. coli played...

In three local cities, Tasers are temporarily on the shelf.
PETER GORMAN

Four Tarrant County cities temporarily suspended their police departments’ use of Taser electronic devices in late September, based on what their attorneys said were new warnings that the devices can be deadly. Anti-Taser act...

That’s what opponents say the new compressor station ordinance does.
EDWARD BROWN AND PETER GORMAN

A natural gas compressor ordinance passed by the Fort Worth City Council last week has closed a several-years-old loophole favoring drillers but simultaneously expanded other allowances for the industry, leaving a contentious i...

Alley maintenance gets little respect from city budget officials, but the neighbors miss it when it’s gone.
JEFF PRINCE

A green alley runs behind houses along West Magnolia and Harrison avenues in the historic Mistletoe Heights neighborhood, providing city and utility workers access to water, electric, and gas lines. Jim Malloy has lived on Harr...

A new report says Comanche Peak and other plants are far too susceptible to terrorist attacks.
EDWARD BROWN

More than a decade after 9/11, terrorism response plans at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant 40 miles south of Fort Worth still aren’t designed to guard against attacks anywhere near the scope of those launched in New York an...

A tear-down trend could cost the city more of its heritage.
MARIO MONTALVO

Downtown Fort Worth is partially ringed by close-in residential neighborhoods where many older homes are charming, some dilapidated, and some potentially historic. In such neighborhoods, historic preservationists see chances to...

Geothermal systems in Fort Worth schools will save untold dollars over the years.
ERIC GRIFFEY

From Highway 377, Benbrook Middle School looks out of place. The modern-looking, brown-and-cream-colored structure stands in stark contrast to the cattle pasture across the street and the myriad strip malls dotting the landscap...